Ilya Kirko

Central Defender - Neman
28 Jan 2027
Thursday
Process

Marked for Ilya Kirko

25 Edition

The Neman Chronicle

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Andrey Yakimov damages knee ligaments — 22 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 22 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

A fracture rules Mikhail Kozlov out for 14 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Neman will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

Mateush Montevka says Neman went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Neman

Kirill Veidyger was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Shérif Jimoh

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Luka Gagnidze knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luka Gagnidze trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

Back issues
21 Edition

The Neman Chronicle

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

45 days out for Mikhail Kozlov after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Neman will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

The dugout

When it matters, Nikita Matysyuk plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

A door opens for Pavel Savitskiy

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

In brief

17 Edition

The Neman Chronicle

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Mikhail Kozlov out for 77 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Neman will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Only the photograph left for Maxim Kravtsov

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maxim Kravtsov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Neman the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Mikhail Kozlov in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Neman this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Nikita Matysyuk gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Nikita Matysyuk is on it.

The dugout

A door opens for Yuriy Pavlyukovets

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

The dugout

Dmitriy Girs knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Neman, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

11 Edition

The Neman Chronicle

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

125 days out for Mikhail Kozlov after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Neman will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Alexey Shalashnikov is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Neman is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

A falling-out at Neman

Kirill Veidyger and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Yuriy Pavlyukovets

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Loan watch

Danil Ananka has seen enough of Volna Pinsk

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Neman, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

Guljigit Borubaev asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief